Author's Note: On Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, over 3,000 of our fellow citizens were murdered by Muslim terrorists. I was only four then, so I don't really remember what happened, but that doesn't make it any less personal for me today. I believe we should feel sorry for those lost and those left behind, but more than anything else, we should feel anger on this day. The attack was an attack on you, no matter who you are, because it was an attack on this country as a whole. It was an attack on the American pride, and we need to show once and for all that we still won't give it up that easy.

"Justice will be served and the battle will rage, this big dog will fight when you rattle his cage, and you'll be sorry that you messed with the US of A, cuz we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way" – Toby Keith, Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue

Terrorism. It was something that was part of their job. They would have cases where it would come into play sometimes, and they were never pretty.

Ziva had dealt with it more than anyone else on the team, which was to be expected, since she had grown up in Israel. She had become Mossad – yes, maybe partly because of just who her father was – but also an Israeli sense of duty, just as she had told Tony before. Ziva understood just how real the threat of terrorism was because of where she was from, and she knew how it had to be dealt with.

You had to do something before they did. That's the way her father had trained her, and that's the way everyone in Israel had grown up. If you knew they were planning an attack, shut it down. And if they did attack, retaliate with a bigger and better one. Don't let them think you are weak. And that's how her country manages to survive, even though they are surrounded by millions of people who want them dead.

Tony had also seen terrorism first hand. In Somalia, in Saleem's camp, he had gotten a taste of how relentless terrorists were; how awful and cold-hearted and wrongly motivated they really were. Sure, he had always been against it, but after what happened in Somalia, he knew for a fact that every single terrorist was way worse than all the murderers in the world combined.

Gibbs was a Marine. He knew how to fight a fight. He knew how to get done what needed to be done, and he certainly didn't hesitate to do so when cases called for it. It is important to stay one step ahead of your enemy, so when they happen to get ahead of you, you have to quickly get your revenge and go right back in the lead.

One of their own had died as a result of terrorism. Kate had been shot by Ari. When something affects your life that negatively, it's going to be something you're adamantly again. Her death struck hard for Gibbs, Tony, and McGee, and Ziva knew just how devastating the loss was. It's a big part of the reason they all have absolutely no tolerance and go at it with a vengeance when terrorism comes into play in a case.

But yet, they know that no matter what they do, they can't ever stop the problem of terrorism. Nobody ever can. As Ziva knew from growing up in Israel, it's not a few isolated extremists. It's a group. It's a population. It's who they are. Maybe not everyone born into the lifestyle turns out to be a radical terrorist who wants to kill everyone not like them, but the beliefs are still in their heart, and there's no telling when they might break.

Quite simply, they are killers. Selfish, conceited, ruthless killers. Murder can sometimes be justifiable. Terrorism can never be. Sure, when they catch the terrorists, they all say it was for their country, for Allah, and all that other crap. But that's all it is. Crap. And Ziva, Tony, Gibbs, and even McGee will hear no part of it. They know what terrorists do. They know how they work.

Ziva, now an American citizen, still finds it hard to understand why the US has such a different approach to combating terrorism than Israel. Obviously, Israel's approach works, so what's the difference? Ziva was Mossad. She knows what it's like to protect your country, and she knows just how much one person can really do.

There are hundreds of millions of people who want everyone in the United States dead. Every day, there is probably somebody within a terrorist group plotting to kill you or someone you know by means of a mass attack. And if that bothers you, and you want them dead, too, you can take a stand. Just like Ziva, Tony, Gibbs, and McGee have done.

A religion of peace? We all need to remember the image of those towers being crashed into, the Pentagon burning, the plane going down in Pennsylvania, our homeland under fire. It's going to continue. It's not going to stop.

When those towers burned to the ground, how exactly did you feel? Ziva was mad; it wasn't her country, but she knew if something like that happened to America, something worse might happen to them. Gibbs was outraged; he was a proud Marine and proud American and wouldn't stand for something like this. McGee was shocked; he didn't think the US would be attacked like that on their own soil. Tony was upset; he had friends at NYPD that responded to the attack, some that were killed doing so. Along with thousands of innocent others.

It was one of the most important days in United States history. Why has it faded from some people's minds? Why are we still not going at combating terrorism with a vengeance like we should be? Most people only really remember on days like this, the 10th anniversary. But some people remember every day of their lives, because they still have not moved past that day. Forgetting is not an option. Forgiveness isn't one, either.

Some died heroes that day. Some didn't. But they all died helpless, innocent victims of a population that are all to blame for what happened, not just the hijackers themselves. It is up to us to avenge their deaths. To fight the fight they couldn't.

This country will remain the land of the free only as long as it is the home of the brave. And that bravery looks like its slowing slipping away. Does that mean our freedom is, too? Well, yes. Unless we have something to say about it.

GOD BLESS THE USA!